On Delgado: Should he stay or should he go?

We had this conversation briefly last night, but I think it’s important to raise the topic again. Carlos Delgado has been that good.

Back in April, May and June, Delgado, at 36, appeared done. The Mets would’ve paid him $14 million to go. His $4 million buyout for ’09 was chump change, or so it seemed at the time. I don’t know if I buy the belief many of you share that he wasn’t trying. In breaking him down, however, fair is fair â€” he was hitting .215 as late as May 28th.

As we mentioned last night, all that has changed. He’s been the best power hitter in baseball since June 27th (19 HRs, 58 RBI) and has helped drive the Mets into first place in the NL East.

Now the issue: Delgado is in the last year of a four-year, $52-million deal. He has either: A) a $16-million vesting option, or B) a $12-million club option. Decisions, decisions.

According to a column written today by SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the only way Delgado can cause the option to kick in at $16 million is by winning the NL MVP, NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP. Unless something truly remarkable and historic happens between now and October (and I’m sure Fred and Jeff Wilpon would gladly hand over keys to the vault if he wins all three MVPs), it’s going to be up to the Mets.

The club can basically have Delgado for $8 million (they have to pay the $4 mil anyway). When you look at it that way, I don’t think it’s such a tough decision.

Before I leave you guys and girls to chime in, here’s what Delgado had to say about how the rest of the season jives with his contract situation:

“Thereâ€™s no auditioning. If they havenâ€™t seen it by now, theyâ€™re not going to see it. Definitely, Iâ€™m playing for me and to help the team. Iâ€™m not showcasing anything. Itâ€™s their decision. Obviously, I like the guys here. I think weâ€™ve got a good club. But thatâ€™s beyond my control.”

JOSH THOMSON joined The Journal News and LoHud.com in March 2003 and has covered high school football, basketball, baseball and pro and college sports ever since. He graduated in 1998 from Carmel High School and in 2002 from Boston University with a degree in communications. Josh spends the majority of his free time with his wife and two daughters.